3- Regulations of Conduct

Regulations of Conduct

Prohibited Conduct

The following conduct is prohibited on CTA Transit Vehicles, within or upon CTA Facilities and Properties, and in connection with CTA’s provision of public transportation services.

1 | Engaging in any conduct prohibited by RCW 9.91.025 or prohibited by any federal, state, or municipal civil or criminal law.

2 | Use of chewing tobacco except at a designated place; use of any nicotine or smoking device which causes any smoke, mist, vapor or the like to be emitted through its use, within twenty-five (25) feet of any CTA transit vehicle, shelter, or other public transportation facility, or within twenty-five (25) feet of any entrance, window, or air intake opening of CTA buildings; smoking or carrying a lighted or smoldering pipe, cigar, or cigarette within twenty-five (25) feet of any CTA transit vehicle, shelter, or other public transportation facility, or within twenty-five (25) feet of any entrance, window, or air intake opening of CTA buildings (RCW 9.91.025).

4 | Dumping or discarding any materials on transit property, including but not limited to hazardous substances and automotive fluids (RCW 9.91.025).

5 | Playing any radio, recorder, or other sound-production equipment, except that nothing herein shall prohibit the use of such equipment when connected to earphones that limit the sound to individual listeners or the use of communication devices by CTA employees, CTA contractors, or public safety officers in the line of duty, or the use of private communication devices used to summon, notify, or communication with other individuals (e.g., pagers, beepers, or cellular telephones) (RCW 9.91.025).

7 | Failure to maintain a reasonable level of personal hygiene. It is not CTA’s objective to enforce personal hygiene standards on the public, but in order to maintain a clean and safe environment to all who use CTA’s vehicles and property, passengers who may contaminate an area due to blood, urine, fecal matter, or other body fluids will be refused transportation. This includes those whose body odor is so offensive that others would complain and vacate the immediate area.

8 | Carrying any flammable liquid, explosive, acid, or other article or material likely to cause harm to others except that nothing herein shall prevent a person from carrying a cigarette, cigar, or pipe lighter or carrying a firearm or ammunition in a way that is not otherwise prohibited by law or these Rules of Conduct (RCW 9.91.025);

9 | Obstructing or impeding the flow of CTA Transit Vehicles or passenger traffic or hindering or preventing access to CTA Transit Vehicles, facilities or property. This includes causing unreasonable delays in boarding or alighting, blocking or partially blocking an aisle or stairway with a package or object, reclining in more than one seat, or otherwise unlawfully interfering with the provision or use of public transportation services (RCW 9.91.025).

12 | Consuming an alcoholic beverage, or in possession of an open beverage container holding alcohol in any Transit Vehicle; carrying any alcohol beverage or controlled substance in any Transit Vehicle, unless otherwise authorized by law (RCW 46.61.519).

13 | Consuming an alcoholic beverage, or in possession of an open container of alcohol on CTA Facilities and Properties, except where permitted to do so by virtue of possession of a valid state and/or local liquor license and authorized by CTA (RCW 9.91.025).

14 | Carrying, exhibiting, displaying, or drawing any firearm, dagger, sword, knife or other cutting or stabbing instrument, club, or any other weapon apparently capable of producing bodily harm, in a manner, under circumstances, and at a time and place that either manifests an intent to intimidate another or that warrants alarm for the safety of other persons, unless otherwise authorized by law (RCW 9.91.025).

15 | Throwing an object at Transit Vehicles or CTA Facilities and Properties, or at any person on CTA Facilities and Properties or using a Transit Vehicle (RCW 9.91.025).

16 | Allowing any animal, including service animals, to occupy a seat on Transit Vehicles or CTA Facilities and Properties, to run at large, to unreasonably disturb others, to leave waste matter on CTA Facilities and Properties, or interfere with transit-related activities. Except for service animals, animals are allowed in CTA Facilities and Properties or Transit Vehicles only if the animal is in a secure carrier designed specifically for animals, with absorbent material on the carrier floor.

17 | Engages in other conduct that is inconsistent with the intended purpose of CTA Facilities and Properties, or Transit Vehicles and refuses to obey the lawful commands of an agent of the CTA or a law enforcement officer to cease such conduct.

19 | Riding bicycles, unicycles, mopeds, or other motorcycles, except where public vehicle travel and access is permitted.

20 | Eating on Transit Vehicles or in prohibited areas of CTA Facilities and Properties; CTA permits transportation and consumption of beverages on Transit Vehicles when the beverage is in a reusable, leak-proof container with a resealing lid.

21 | Using a public address system, loudspeaker, or other sound-amplifying device, except as authorized by CTA or its designee (RCW 9.91.025).

22 | Using CTA Facilities and Properties for residential or commercial parking purposes except as authorized by CTA or its designee.

23 | Operating, stopping, standing, or parking a vehicle in any roadway or location restricted for use only by Transit Vehicles or otherwise restricted.

24 | Sitting or lying on floors of Transit Vehicles, planters, handrails, stairs, counters, window sills, or any other area or fixture not specifically designed for seating purposes, or floors, sidewalks, asphalt, or other ground covering in or on CTA Facilities and Properties.

25 | Sleeping, camping, or storing personal property on benches or floors on or within Transit Vehicles or CTA Facilities and Properties, unless otherwise authorized by law.

26 | Entering or remaining upon any nonpublic areas of CTA Facilities and Properties, including, but not limited to, staging areas, work areas, and equipment rooms, except when authorized by CTA or its designee.

27 | Entering Transit Vehicles or CTA Facilities and Properties without wearing a shirt and shoes.

28 | Engaging in commercial activities on CTA Facilities and Properties or Transit Vehicles, except as such activities are authorized by CTA or its designee in a written permit, license, concession contract, lease, or other written authorization.

29 | Engaging in public communication activities on CTA Facilities and Properties or Transit Vehicles, except as such activities are authorized by Articles 4 herein.

30 | Engaging in any civic, cultural, or other special event, not included in the definitions of commercial or public communication activities in Article II herein, except as such activities are authorized by CTA or its designee in a written permit, license, concession contract, lease, or other written authorization.

31 | Committing any act which tends to create or incite, or creates or incites, an immediate breach of peace, including, but not limited to (a) fighting (b) racing (c) obscene language and noisy or boisterous conduct tending to cause a breach of the peace, and (d) personally abusive epithets, or words or language of an offensive, disgusting, or insulting nature, which epithets, words, or language when addressed to the ordinary citizen are, as a matter of common knowledge, inherently likely to provoke a violent reaction of fear, anger, or apprehension.

32 | Engaging in sexual activity with self or others while riding or accessing a Transit Vehicle; or on CTA Facilities and Properties.

33 | Displaying or reading pornographic material where others may see it.

34 | Engaging in gambling or any game of chance for the winning of money or anything of value (RCW 9.91.025) on Transit Vehicles or on CTA Facilities and Properties.

35 | Use of Transit Vehicles or CTA Facilities and Properties for nontransit-related activities, except as authorized by CTA or its designee (RCW 9.91.025).

36 | Entering Transit Vehicles or CTA Facilities and Properties when lacking the ability to care for oneself because of illness, intoxication, or medication(s).

37 | Extending an object or a portion of one’s body through the door or window of a Transit Vehicle.

38 | Hanging or swinging on bars or stanchions with feet off the floor, inside a Transit Vehicle or other CTA Facilities and Properties; hanging onto or otherwise attaching oneself at any time to the exterior of a Transit Vehicle or other CTA Facilities and Properties.

39 | Engaging in any physical sport activity on CTA Facilities and Properties.

40 | Loitering or “hanging out” (customers are expected to board the next scheduled Transit Vehicle traveling in the direction of their destination).

41 | Refusing to allow proper securement of a wheelchair on Transit Vehicles.

42 | Refusing to use personal restraints/seatbelts on Transit Vehicles providing paratransit services, unless customer has previously provided CTA with written notice of a statutory exemption from such use (RCW 46.61.688).

43 | Failing to pay the appropriate fare as required by CTA, including failure to display proof of payment when requested to do so by a person designated to monitor fare payment or failure to depart the bus or other mode of public transportation when requested to do so by a person designated to monitor fare payment (RCW 36.57A.230/RCW 9.91.025).

44 | Falsely representing oneself as eligible for a special or reduced fare or using any permit or pass related to a Transit Vehicle by making a false representation of eligibility (RCW 9.91.025).

45 | Falsely claiming to be a transit operator or other transit employee or volunteer, or, through words, actions and/or the use of clothes, insignia, or equipment resembling department-issued uniforms and equipment, creating a false impression that one is a transit operator or other transit employee or volunteer (RCW 9.91.025).

52 | Violating any federal, state or municipal civil and criminal laws.

Enforcement

1- Exclusion from Service

(a) Basis for Exclusion

Any person engaging in prohibited conduct under these provisions of Article III, Section A, may be refused entrance upon, ordered to leave, or otherwise restricted in the use of Transit Vehicles, or CTA Facilities and Properties by a commissioned law enforcement official, CTA personnel, or authorized personnel of a CTA contracted service provider. Failure to immediately comply with such a removal or exclusion order may be grounds for prosecution for criminal trespass and/or unlawful transit conduct.

(b) Immediate Exclusion or Removal

A CTA employee may immediately reseat, refuse transportation, or remove from Transit Vehicles, or Facilities and Properties without prior written notice, a person who has engaged in prohibited conduct under Article III, Section A, which, in the CTA employee’s discretion, poses a safety or security risk, interferes with or impinges on the rights of others, impedes the free flow of the general public, or impedes the orderly and efficient use of CTA vehicles, facilities, or properties. If an individual, who is immediately excluded or removed, is also excluded from future access to Transit Vehicles or Facilities and Properties, CTA should, to the extent possible, give notice to that individual of the future exclusion pursuant to section (B).

(c) Notice Procedure

CTA may give a person to be excluded from Transit Vehicles or Facilities and Properties, written notice, to the extent possible, by personal delivery or by U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail, delivery confirmation requested, addressed to the person’s last known address. The notice shall specify the reason or reasons for exclusion, identify the scope, duration, and effective date of the exclusion, and explain the appeal process. The exclusion notice is effective upon actual or constructive receipt.

(d) Constructive Receipt

Receipt of an exclusion notice is construed to have occurred if the person knew or reasonably should have known from the circumstances that he or she is excluded from Transit Agency vehicles, facilities or properties. Receipt of an exclusion notice is also presumed to have been accomplished three calendar days after the notice has been placed in the U.S. Mail to the person’s last known mailing address.

(e) Length of Exclusion

The following suggested exclusion lengths are guidelines to be used by CTA in determining the duration of a particular exclusion under the provisions of Article III. The actual exclusion period imposed may be shorter or longer depending on the circumstances of each case. Circumstances considered by CTA in determining the length of exclusion may include, without limitation, the immediate incident, CTA’s documented history of prior incidents involving the excluded person, CTA security records, supervisor records and any other public records available to CTA regarding the individual’s conduct while using or accessing Transit Vehicles or CTA Facilities and Properties. Permanent exclusion may be appropriate under certain circumstances.

The following appeal process shall be provided to any person excluded from Transit Vehicles or CTA Facilities and Properties for a period of thirty (30) days or more. Not later than ten (10) calendar days after the exclusion notice becomes effective, an excluded person may appeal in writing to the designated CTA representative for a review of the exclusion. The appellant may request a hearing, or the appellant may request review without a hearing based on a written statement setting forth the reasons why the appellant believes exclusion is invalid or improper. If the appellant is unable to respond in writing, CTA will make reasonable accommodations. If no hearing is requested, the designated CTA representative, or his or her designee, shall render a written decision within twenty (20) calendar days after CTA’s receipt of the appeal.

(g) Hearing

If the appellant does request a hearing, the hearing shall be held within thirty (30) calendar days after CTA’s receipt of the appeal, and a written decision shall be rendered within thirty (30) calendar days after the hearing. Exclusions shall not be stayed during the appeal process, unless the exclusion is for missing scheduled trips under Article 3, Section A., 49 herein.

2 – Other Laws Not Limited.

The enforcement of Article III herein is not intended to limit, in any manner, the enforcement of any applicable federal, state, or municipal laws, provided CTA is not authorized to assist a patron or employee in enforcing a court order prohibiting or restricting contact with any other person other than to notify appropriate law enforcement personnel via CTA’s dispatcher or CTA Security.

Liability

Nothing in Article III herein shall create a duty to any person on the part of CTA or form any basis for liability on the part of CTA, its officers, agents, employees or volunteers. The obligation to comply with Article III is solely that of any person entering and using Transit Vehicles or CTA Facilities and Properties, and CTA’s enforcement of Article III is discretionary, not mandatory.